Elden Ring Dex Build: Weapons, Armor, & Talisman (2024)

The Elden Ring Dex Build is one of two styles of Build in the game that focus on physical stats as their primary source of damage output. The other, of course, is Strength, but even then, neither of these is purely focused on their particular attribute. Any decent Elden Ring Dexterity build will have secondary stats you’ve invested in.

Elden Ring Best Dex Build Guide

To start with, I’m going to mention that an Elden Ring Dexterity Build primarily focuses on mobility over defense. This is not supposed to make a character that uses heavy armor and a greatshield; for that, you want to invest in the Strength stat.

But if you do want a quick head start at the beginning of the game, I highly recommend either the Warrior or the Samurai classes since they start with the highest Dexterity at 16 and 15 points, respectively. They also have the starting weapons that scale the best with the stat, so that’s simply a nice bonus.

Dex Build Weapons

Let’s first look at all of my Weaponpicks for Dex build and their stats comparison:

Uchigatana

Attack Stats:

Guard Stats:

I will sing the praises of the Uchigatana until my dying breath because I genuinely believe it is one of the best weapons in the Elden Ring. It’s extremely easy to acquire in the first couple of hours with the game and can be upgraded to stay useful throughout your entire playthrough. It’s also not necessary that you have to use this for a dex build, it can even be adjusted to scale with other playstyles like an Intelligence Build.

It is a little surprising that it starts out with a D in Dex scaling that only goes up to a C, even at the maximum upgrade level of +25, but that’s not really an issue either.

Bloodhound’s Fang

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Being a greatsword, the Bloodhound’s Fang might not seem like a good addition to an Elden Ring Dexterity Build but bear with me here. Unlike most greatswords in the game, this one scales primarily with Dex and can reach B rank as soon as you upgrade it to +7. On top of this, it also has the ability to inflict the Hemorrhage Status Effect, making it a devastating close-range armament.

Its unique Bloodhound’s Finesse skill lets you dance around enemies with a surprising amount of speed. While using it, you perform a slash and then do a backward somersault away from your target.

Godskin Peeler

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Guard Stats:

Almost all Twinblades in the game can work for a Dex Build, but the Godskin Peeler is the best among them. As a standard weapon, it only has a C rank in Dex scaling, which only changes to a B at +25. But if you change its affinity to Keen, then it starts off at a C rank, then improves to a B at +1, and finally an A at +20.

This weapon has an incredibly fast moveset that allows you to inflict multiple blows on an enemy within a relatively short amount of time. It’s also excellent at crowd control, allowing you to hit multiple enemies at the same time, especially when you’re Two-handed.

Hand of Malenia

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Guard Stats:

The Hand of Malenia is a hard weapon to recommend for two different reasons. First, it has insanely high perquisites at 16 Strength and 48 Dexterity, all but ensuring that you’ll have to respec into this build unless you’ve been putting all your points into Dex. Second, acquiring it requires you to beat Malenia, Blade of Miquella, the hardest boss in the game.

Its unique Waterfowl Dance skill is also an incredibly effective ability that delivers a series of slashes that damage enemies all around the player.

Moonveil Katana

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Guard Stats:

No Elden Ring Dexterity Build can ever be complete without mentioning the Moonveil Katana, a weapon so powerful that it basically breaks the game. We actually have a full Moonveil build guide up for players considering using it, but keep in mind that it makes the game a cakewalk. It saps the challenge out of a lot of boss fights.

Basically, this armament deals both physical and magical damage at the same time. It also requires 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 23 Intelligence to wield properly, so as you might assume, the main focus is on magical damage.

Armor For Dex Build

When it comes to armor in an Elden Ring Dexterity Build, the best advice I can give is to go with whatever looks good to you. I’m being serious here. This entire build is predicated on your ability to dodge roll and not get hit by attacks effectively. And if you can master that one aspect of your playstyle, then your choice of armor doesn’t really matter.

The only thing to remember is that dodge rolling is only possible at low and medium loads. You can still technically do so at a heavy load, but it’s so slow and ineffective that you might as well let yourself get hit at that point.

That said, I have a few recommendations for armor sets that worked for me. Here’s a quick look at their stats comparison:

Land of Reeds Set

Damage Negation:

Resistance:

During my first 10 or so hours with the game, I stuck exclusively with my Land of Reeds Set. It’s light, provides decent protection, and honestly looks really cool. The magic damage reduction could be better, but remember that you’re aiming to not get hit at all.

Royal Remains Set

Damage Negation:

Resistance:

The Royal Remains Set is another armor that can be found early on in the game, and it’s a decent step up in terms of physical protection. It’s a bit worse in terms of other types of damage negation compared to the Land of Reeds set, but up until the mid-way point of the game, most enemies should still be coming at you with physical attacks.

The set is also a bit heavier than the Reeds’ set, but it also has a unique healing ability. Basically, you recover 8 HP per second while you are under 18% of your total health. This isn’t all that great at first glance, but if you’ve been putting points into Vigor and your health pool is massive, it can make a big difference.

Briar Set

Damage Negation:

Resistance:

Now the Briar Set is a great option for an Elden Ring Dexterity Build because it provides a decent amount of both physical and magical damage reduction. But to get it, you do have to find the two halves of the Dectus Medallion first and reach the Altus Plateau. And after defeating a boss named Elemer of the Briar here, you can finally go and purchase the set from the Palm Reader in the Roundtable Hold.

It also has the added benefit of inflicting a bit of physical damage to enemies when you roll through them on account of the thorns wrapped around the set. The more pieces you have equipped, the greater the damage you do; and for a Dex Build centered around dodge rolling, this works out great.

Raging Wolf Set

Damage Negation:

Resistance:

Now finally, I get to the armor set that I personally used for my run of the game, including most of the end-game bosses. This is called the Raging Wolf Set, and it’s the armor that was featured heavily in some of the gameplay trailers of the game.

Talismans For Dex Build

Elden Ring features a large collection of Talismans that are useful in a number of different situations. They offer a lot of flexibility when choosing a playstyle, and they can make or break a lot of different builds.

So I’ll now go over some of the most useful Talismans for an Elden Ring Dexterity build. Let me first list them down and compare them:

Erdtree’s Favor

Every build in Elden Ring can take advantage of increased Health, Stamina, and Equip load, and this particular Dex Build is no different in that regard. So that’s exactly what Erdtree’s Favor Talisman bestows on characters.

In fact, the Equip load in particular, is a massive boon when it comes to armor, as it allows players to offset the weight cost of some of the better sets in the game. Using this can be the difference between life and death in a boss battle, especially if you haven’t invested many points in Endurance and Vigor.

Rotten Winged Sword Insignia

When playing as a Dex build, you do not utilize heavy-charged attacks with long animations for most situations. Your focus is on landing a lot of fast attacks in a short amount of time and doing as much damage as possible within the limited windows you are given.

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For a build like this, the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia is absolutely indispensable. With this Talisman equipped on your character, your attack power is boosted with successive attacks, and this effect lasts for a while. So as you keep the pressure on, you are rewarded in turn with greater damage output.

Millicent’s Prosthesis

This addition to my build functions a lot like the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, but it has another function as well that makes it more valuable. I highly recommend discarding the previous entry on the list as soon as you get this one.

On top of the increase to your attack power with successive attacks, Millicent‘s Prosthesis Talisman also gives you a +5 to your Dexterity stat on top of. This is a massive increase to your core attribute and one that lets you invest in other stats that might not be your first priority. Because if you know that you have a +5 to your Dex, you’ll be more willing to put some points into Vigor or Mind.

Radagon’s Soreseal

The Radagon’s Soreseal is a phenomenal Talisman for a lot of different builds, but for this one, in particular, it can be an absolute godsend. This increases your Strength, Dexterity, Vigor, and Endurance stats by +5, which is a 20-level boost. But in return, you take +15% damage from all sources.

Now it’s obvious why this might not appeal to all players. But as I’ve mentioned multiple times before in this article, the Elden Ring Dexterity Build is focused on dodging over blocking. And when you’ve trained yourself to simply not take the hits, a mere +15% increase in damage taken is no problem at all.

Flask of Wondrous Physick Crystal Tears Mix

The dex build playstyle in Elden Ring requires players to be agile and swift in landing consecutive attacks. That is why having Thorny Cracked Tear and Stonebarb Cracked Tear in Flask of Wondrous Physick will give you the best damage output.

It is because the former increases the attack power of consecutive attacks for three minutes and the latter breaks the enemy’s poise faster. The quicker you disable an enemy from attacking you the more chances you will get to do consecutive attacks; hence, both Crystal Tears are perfect for this build’s playstyle. Also, while you’re at it, consider reading our Elden Ring Crystal Tear guide and discover the locations of all 29 of these in the game.

You can continue reading my guide or watch the video listing the best dexterity weapons for the perfect dex build in the game.

My Recommendations For An Optimal Dex Build

After spending more than 600 hours in Elden Ring, I can say that Dex Build is enough to beat the game, even if it’s your first playthrough. I just love Katanas and things associated with Japanese culture, so I chose the Samurai build, which comes with Uchigatana. I would recommend you do the same, as you will have access to one of the best weapons in-game early on.

You can also dual-wield Uchigatana, or you can also get the Moonviel Katana. Hand of Malenia, which you will get in the end game, is also worth trying. That being said, the most broken weapon you can use in this build is the Goskin Peeler, as in the later game area, it shreds bosses. Regarding the talismans, I would suggest you get the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Shard of Alexandar, Radagon’s Sorseal, and Milicent Prosthesis.

This is from Elden Ring’s Best Dex Build Guide. While you’re here, why not also check out our Elden Ring Confessor Build guide?